If you’re interested in more ways to achieve sustainability, this list of the top sustainable-living books is for you.
Talking about humanity’s impact on the environment can be depressing. It seems like there is so much that needs to be done, but nothing helps. That’s not correct at all. Everyone can do something to help, and together, we can make a difference.
Small changes in how we choose to live our lives can have a huge impact. Therefore, we are recommending the best books on sustainable living that present actionable ways to protect the environment. Let’s get started!
What is sustainable living?
Living sustainably involves finding ways to conserve resources and improve environmental protection.
We depend on the earth —from the fertile soils that grow our food to the ozone layer’s protection. We must therefore consider how our lifestyle choices affect the world and work to live better with less waste.
Fortunately, there are many ways to live a life sustainably. The many available options and innovative methods we can use to do so are endless.
For example, you can begin by switching to sustainable fashion, since the clothing industry is one of the biggest contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions.
In addition, sustainable practices like consuming less meat and producing more of our own food are good for our bodies and the environment. Thus, let us take a look at the best sustainable living books.
10 Best sustainable living books
There are many ways we could help save the environment. We can use our voices to support policies that protect the environment and ensure food security in our own gardens.
But we can do more. We can learn how to live in a way that is less harmful to the environment. Here are some books about living sustainably that you can make small but impactful changes to in your shopping and cooking habits.
1. The Sustainable(ish) Living Guide by Jen Gale
If you prefer to do your part for the Earth but you don’t have the time for sorting trash and you have a lot on your plate that remembering to bring reusable cups feels like an overwhelming task, then this book is for you.
The Sustainable(ish) Living Guide covers every aspect of our lives — from the stuff we buy and the meals we eat to how we get around, work, and celebrate.
There are many practical, down-to-earth ideas that you can utilize to do things differently in your daily life. This sustainable living book will help you make small modifications to your impact in the world, without requiring major changes to your own lifestyle.
2. Grow Food For Free: The Sustainable, Zero-cost, Low-effort Way to a Bountiful Harvest by Huw Richards
During his yearlong effort, author, Huw Richards, grew food for free with his friends in gratitude. Now he wants to help as many individuals as possible with this book, which is a blueprint for a sustainable lifestyle.
The book includes information on how to obtain the materials you need and find space for your own garden. It recommends repurposing a wooden pallet or checking your kitchen cabinets and refrigerator for foodstuffs you can plant.
This is one of the best books about organic farming if you want practical tips on how to grow fruits and vegetables organically and recipes for nutritious, affordable meals.
3. Building a Better World in Your Backyard: Instead of Being Angry at Bad Guys by Paul Wheaton and Shawn Klassen-Koop
There is an ongoing debate over who is at fault for our pollution and our planet’s warming. Instead of getting angry with people, the book Building a Better World in Your Backyard explains how you can make a significant impact on the world from your own home.
It provides information about numerous possibilities for resolving environmental concerns. However, the suggestions they present do not involve the typical suggestions of contacting policymakers, attending demonstrations, and signing petitions.
In this book, the authors suggest other ways of creating a mutually beneficial relationship with nature that do not demand anyone to forgo anything. What a world it would be if everyone lived that way!
This is why we suggest this book as one of the best books on sustainable living.
4. Simply Living Well: A Guide to Creating a Natural, Low-Waste Home by Julia Watkins
Julia Watkins’s cookbook, Simply Living Well, is filled with recipes, craft ideas, and tips for leading a low-waste life. Watkins is the author of the @simply.living.well Instagram account.
This is one of the books on sustainable living that presents useful guidelines and timely advice for living simply and sustainably at home.
Watkins shows you ways to say no to wasteful packaging and unhealthy ingredients. It lists easy swaps you can make. She suggests using compostable sponges or Swedish dishcloths instead of disposable sponges. For example, she suggests getting compostable sponges or Swedish dishcloths.
You will also have the opportunity to make wool dryer balls and herbal tinctures and balms. Additionally, you will be able to create recipes for essentials like homemade nut milk, hummus, ketchup, salad dressings, and vegetable stock.
5. Inconspicuous Consumption: The Environmental Impact You Don’t Know You Have by Tatiana Schlossberg
As long as we are all here on Earth, the Earth connects us to each other. Even Schlossberg, a philosopher who I met in a German restaurant, talked about how what we do in one place affects us all.
The book, Inconspicuous Consumption describes how video streaming a movie on Netflix in New York consumes coal in Virginia or how eating a hamburger in California might contribute to pollution in the Gulf.
But far from being depressing, Schlossberg makes the climate crisis and its solutions fascinating. It also offers anyone a reason to be concerned about the environment, no matter how small.
She also prompts readers to consider what they buy and how it has affected the environment in a new way. The book is a reminder that the fight against climate change has to include all of us, and we are required to do it together.
As the first-place winner of the Society of Environmental Journalists’ Rachel Carson Environment Book Award, this is a truly fantastic book on sustainable living.
6. Waste Not: Make a Big Difference by Throwing Away Less by Erin Rhoads
Every year, we produce millions of tons of trash and it’s a growing issue. Because only 20% of waste is recycled and more than 80% is disposed of in landfills, it can be challenging to solve.
The trash we generate includes thousands of dollars’ worth of food and an ever-increasing amount of plastic. We know that plastic takes thousands of years to break down and is often found in the ocean or in our food chain.
So, if you’re also disgusted when you see unnecessarily shrink-wrapped fruits and vegetables and would like to know how to lessen waste, read the book, Waste Not a Read.
This book explains how a motivated internet user achieved internet stardom by ordering groceries from duty-free shopping websites.
She shares all her knowledge in a witty and fascinating way, helping you live with less waste as well.
7. The Fate of Food: What We’ll Eat in a Bigger, Hotter, Smarter World by Amanda Little
The book, Fate of Food, is a fascinating account of how we will feed 9 billion people sustainably in the coming decades.
The author, Amanda Little, is a professor at Duke University and an award-winning reporter. She spent a year traveling around the world to bring readers exciting and interesting news.
This book is full of interviews with farmers, scientists, activists, and engineers. She takes readers on a tour of how our food is made in the future. If you want to see what that is like, receive a copy of this book about sustainable living.
In the book, Little discusses the dangers of climate change in greater depth. Little describes the awe and optimism that she found in learning about the lessons of our past and of humanity’s resourcefulness.
8. 101 Ways To Go Zero Waste
Food waste is the most serious problem humanity is currently facing. According to Earth.org, 33 percent of the food produced worldwide each year is lost or thrown out, valued at $1 trillion USD. This is enough to provide 3 billion people with nutrition. If you want some advice on how to reduce your household’s waste, I’d recommend that you listen to Kathryn Kellogg.
She can fit all her trash from the past two years into a pint-sized mason jar. If this fact inspires you, 101 Ways to Go Zero Waste is the book for you. You will find Kellogg’s instructions and more on how she helped herself.
Additionally, the book includes tips for responsible consumption and guides to making your own home goods and fashion choices. Furthermore, you can make a big difference in the way you live by making your own meals and purchasing only the items and products you need.
This is one of the best books on healthy living. It’s a practical blueprint for making lifestyle changes for those looking to reduce their waste.
9. Live Green: 52 steps for a more sustainable life (sustainable gift, self-sufficiency, sustainable home) by Jen Chillingsworth
Many of us do our best to adopt a more eco-friendly lifestyle for the planet. So, we recycle, bring reusable bags, and make “meatless Mondays” a thing. But if you have been interested in doing more, reading Live Green is an excellent suggestion.
This is a quick guide to 52 sustainable living changes — one for each week of the year. Each weekly change helps you to be more independent and reduce your environmental impact.
It’s a trove of tips on how to live sustainably. You’ll find tips and tricks on making your own eco-friendly cleaning products and improving your natural beauty regimen. You will also learn how to make a capsule wardrobe and create your own ethical Christmas decorations.
What a pleasure it is to save the Earth, save money and live purposefully!
10. Minimal: How to simplify your life and live sustainably by Madeleine Olivia
In the book, Minimalism: How You Can Simplify Your Life and Live Sustainably, leading eco-activist, Madeleine Olivia, provides suggestions for easy measures that make it easy to live sustainably.
Inside there is a set of tips for how to lessen your carbon footprint, as well as how you can implement more environmentally conscious habits.
It provides advice on how to organize your life to minimize your waste and consumption. There are also recipes for preparing foods using ingredients from local farmer’s markets, as well as step-by-step instructions for selecting, gathering, and making homemade beauty products and cleaning supplies.
Purchase a copy of Minimal and discover how to lead a more fulfilling and longer life while saving the environment.
Get inspired with these top sustainable living books
Read one or two of these books to get ideas for living sustainably. Start off with small changes to your wardrobe, diet and everyday habits.
Perhaps you are even considering how much food and packaging you throw away. Saving the planet might even save you some money!
